The Long War: Afghanistan for Dummies

It's more like Afghanistan by dummies.

by Ray McGovern (truthout 2009-09-03)

I'm going to ask for my money back. I've seen this Afghanistan movie before. The first time, Vietnam was in the title.

As in an early scene from the Vietnam version, U.S. military officials are surprised to discover that the insurgents in Afghanistan are stronger than previously realized.

And our protagonist, Gen. Westmoreland - sorry, I mean McChrystal - sees the situation as serious but salvageable. As Westmoreland did with President Lyndon Johnson, McChrystal is preparing to tell President Barack Obama that thousands of more troops are needed to achieve the U.S. objective - whatever that happens to be.

McGovern quotes at length from an appearance Aug. 12 at the Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C., think tank, at which presidential super-envoy Richard Holbrooke, a veteran of Clinton-era military and foreign policy debacles, tried -- and failed -- to clarify how the Obama administration would gauge success in Afghanistan.

The rest of the story: Afghanistan for Dummies by Ray McGovern (truthout 2009-09-03)